I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

The wound on his abdomen made him move slowly.

The speed of the strike, the reaction speed, and the dodging speed are all inferior to what they were just now.

He kept killing enemy soldiers, but they kept inflicting new wounds on him.

puff!

A bayonet pierced his left thigh.

laugh!

A katana struck his right shoulder.

boom!

Another bullet hit him in the abdomen.

The wounds are multiplying.

The bleeding is increasing.

Gradually, Kondo Shusuke felt his legs becoming unsteady... his consciousness gradually blurred.

He now relies entirely on willpower and muscle memory to wield the knife.

In a daze, he suddenly remembered Abi's face.

She looked younger, dressed in a deep blue dress... He remembered it clearly; it was the dress she wore when they first met.

(What kind of man do I like? I like a man who stands tall and upright. What? Are you planning to marry me? Is that why you're here to gather information?)

(Yes, yes! Miss Bi, I think you are truly a model of a samurai woman. Would you like to be my wife?)

(Hehe~ Then you'd better work hard and strive to become a truly upright man as soon as possible.)

—Abi, have I become a man who stands tall and upright?

With this thought in mind, Abi's face gradually faded away.

Instead, it was the figure of his adopted son, Kondo Isami.

(Mr. Kondo... ah, no, Father! From now on, please take good care of me!)

(Yong, we're father and son now, no need to be so formal! Come, sit down here. To commemorate our formal sworn father-son relationship, let's drink until we drop tonight!)

—Yong, have I become an excellent father that makes you proud?

"Cough, cough, cough!"

A violent cough interrupted all his thoughts.

A large spurt of hot blood gushed from his throat, staining his lips, teeth, and collar red.

In an instant... at the very moment he suddenly vomited blood, he suddenly felt all the pain in his body subside.

Even the already blurred consciousness regained its clarity at this moment.

Then, he saw an incredible sight.

"Huh? Xiao Si? Sui San?"

He blinked in surprise and looked around—he saw Souji and Hijikata Toshizo standing on his left and right sides respectively.

No, it's not just the two of them!

Aoto, Souji, Hijikata Toshizo, Kondo Isami, Yamanami Keisuke, Inoue Genzaburo, Nagakura Shinpachi, Saito Hajime, Todo Heisuke, Harada Sanosuke... all the little guys appeared one after another, standing around him.

"Old man! Take this knife!"

At this moment, an enemy soldier stepped forward and charged forward head-on like a mountain crashing down, rushing towards Kondo Shusuke.

The opponent's slash was as swift as thunder... At this critical moment, Kondo Shusuke subconsciously raised the two kings in his palm and used a wonderful technique to deflect the opponent's slash to the side.

The enemy wasn't surprised, but Kondo Shusuke was stunned first—this wasn't his move.

This special technique of dissipating energy... is Saito Hajime's signature skill.

He didn't know what was happening to him, but his body moved before his mind could, and he naturally used Saito Hajime's moves.

Before he could think further, several more enemy soldiers charged at him.

Amidst this chaos, Kondo Shusuke's body once again "took matters into his own hands" and began to move.

He lifted the two Wang Qingshi above his head, let out a short shout, and chopped down hard, killing the enemy soldier in front of him.

This is Nagakura Shinpachi's heavy strike.

He brandished his blade, deliberately creating an opening to lure the enemy soldiers on his right into attacking.

This is a deceptive tactic employed by Yamanami Keisuke.

He freed his left hand, grabbed the enemy on his left by the collar, and threw him to the ground.

This is Hijikata Toshizo's jutsu.

He nimbly changed his footing, dodging several enemy soldiers' attacks in succession.

This is the footwork of Heisuke Todo.

He raised his knife, took a stance, and then swiftly struck, piercing an enemy soldier's chest before quickly pulling the knife back to his hand.

This was the general's blue-eyed stab.

From offense to defense, from body position to posture change, he constantly used the little guys' signature moves and unique skills.

In this episode, the combined attacks of the elite guards of the Imperial Guard Hall gradually neutralized the enemy soldiers' offensive, and more and more corpses lay at the old man's feet.

If anyone familiar with Kondo Shusuke were here, they would be astonished to see him fight like this.

In fact, Kondo Shusuke was always a very stubborn person.

He firmly believes that the Tennen Rishin-ryu is the strongest school of martial arts in the world, and he has a strong aversion to the techniques of other schools.

He once thought that Aoto and Hijikata Toshizo had learned too many different styles of swordsmanship and were not pure Tennen Rishin-ryu swordsmen, so he was unwilling to grant them permission to pass on their skills.

This stubborn old man is now using techniques from other schools of martial arts to fight... which is truly a strange thing.

At first, Kondo Shusuke frowned slightly, his cheeks filled with a complex expression.

However, in a short while, as if he had figured something out, his brows gradually relaxed, and a calm smile appeared on his slightly upturned lips.

—So that's how it is... So that's how it is...

—Ah Yi, your "energy dissipation" skills are indeed unique.

—Shinpachi, you're right. This kind of slash is even more powerful.

—Sui San, no wonder you like hand-to-hand combat so much.

—Xiao Si, it really isn't that easy to perfectly replicate your moves...

"Hey! What's wrong with this guy?" (Russian)

"Did he take medicine too? Why isn't he collapsing even though he's injured like this?!"

"It's a monster!"

"I'm not fighting anymore! I'm not fighting anymore!"

As the director of Shieikan and a teacher who imparts knowledge and skills, Kondo Shusuke always believed that the happiest moment for a teacher is to witness his students surpass his imagination.

But at that very moment, in that instant, he suddenly realized: for a teacher, the happiest moment is when his disciples turn around and teach him, guiding him to improve together!

I never knew you could do that... I never knew there were moves like that... I never knew I could become stronger...

It's regrettable that he only fully understood this truth today...

Before he knew it, he felt a sudden sense of clarity. The shadows that had previously obscured his vision had all disappeared—he had wiped out the dense enemy forces around him!

Only one enemy soldier remained in front of them!

The other person showed a resolute expression of facing death without fear, and gripped the katana tightly in his hand.

Kondo Shusuke silently raised the tip of his sword, adopting the "Saika Duan" stance—a stance that Aoto was most adept at.

Aim, gather your strength, and burst forth like a cannonball!

He charged at his opponent, knife and all, the knife in his hand piercing the opponent's chest.

At the same moment, the opponent's sword pierced through Kondo Shusuke's body...

The other person vomited several mouthfuls of blood and died.

Kondo Shusuke calmly and without changing his expression, sheathed his sword.

At this point, there were no more enemy soldiers around him.

They were full of the idea of ​​"taking advantage of your injuries to kill you", but they ended up with a miserable ending where "some died and some escaped".

The rest of the enemy soldiers were busy dealing with Otani Seiichiro, and no one had the time to "take care" of Kondo Shusuke.

For this reason, he was able to find a moment of peace.

"I'm a little...tired..."

He let out a long breath, swayed slightly, and then collapsed to the ground with a thud.

At this moment, he saw that "Qingdeng" and others who had been by his side and fighting alongside him were leaving him one after another.

They went straight ahead without stopping for a moment.

Kondo Shusuke raised his gaze, calmly watching "Aoto" and the others getting further and further away from him.

They are still moving forward, they can still move forward... It's a pity that the old man can no longer accompany them.

"Little ones...forward...forward...forward..."

At that moment, Kondo Shusuke suddenly recalled a sentence his father had once told him:

(Humans cherish life; 'preserving oneself and striving to live' is human nature, and there is no way to defy it. However, there are often moments when people can disregard life and death and act without hesitation.)

Suddenly, Kondo Shusuke heard someone speaking to him.

He couldn't recognize the other person, but he could barely hear them ask him this question:

"Kondo Shusuke, when was your 'moment'?"

The old man lowered his head, smiled, and answered softly: